Happily Ever After
by LobsterLobster
Summary: Rick Grimes loves it when a plan comes together. What is he up to now? This is a Richonne no zombies AU, can be considered a follow-up to Confessions of a Broken Heart but can stand alone. WARNING: Major Richonne fluff ahead! SPOILERS: Nobody dies and everyone lives happily ever after!


Happily Ever After

Summary: Rick Grimes always knew that had the potential to be a mastermind strategist. All he needed was the opportunity and a little help from his friends.

A/N: You can either consider this a stand-alone or a (time jump) continuation of my fic Confessions of a Broken Heart. It works either way.

All you have to know is that after a somewhat tumultuous start, Rick and Michonne fell in love and moved in together, along with Andre, Carl, and Judith. They've settled into a happy family life together but Rick feels there's something important he needs to do.

….

The plan came together in pieces.

They were like pieces of a puzzle but with no picture for reference, or clues to a riddle that was missing the last hint.

Michonne flipping through yet another fashion magazine. Or planning another family trip to an art gallery. Carl watching those Youtube videos where someone gets surprised with a puppy.

The plan finally started to coalesce into something real one day when Rick was on a stakeout with his partner. She was talking about her friend in art school, who was trying to pick a subject for her final photography project.

"So I was thinking, like, what about a day in the life of a police officer? The kind of real life stuff people don't usually get to see. What do you think?" Tara was saying, but Rick was lost in thought.

"Boss? It's just an idea. What do you think?" she asked again, waving a hand in front of his face to get his attention.

"Actually, I have another idea…" Rick said slowly, a smile spreading across his face.

And so a conspiracy was formed. That weekend Rick started to put things into motion.

"Do you really have to go to that gun show today?" Michonne asked, her displeasure obvious.

"Yes. I promised Abraham. I'll be back before dinner, promise," Rick said, giving her a conciliatory kiss on the cheek before going to make breakfast.

The gun dealer had responded to Rick's email, saying that if his Colt Python was in as great condition as he claimed then he was willing to pay a tidy sum for it. The figure he quoted, plus the stash Rick had been saving for the past year, would more than cover what Rick had in mind.

…

"Babe, I got a weird message on facebook today," Michonne said as soon as Rick sat down at the table.

"What about?" he asked, helping himself to some more potatoes.

The kids were already stuffing food into their mouths, talking excitedly about the pillow fort Carl was going to help the little ones build in the living room.

"It's from a girl names Rosita Espinosa. She's a friend of Tara's apparently. That's how she saw some of my posts and get this, she wants me to help her with a project for art school," Michonne said, her eyes glittering in a way that said this was only the beginning of something bigger.

"What kind of project?" Rick asked casually.

"It's a photography project, building a portfolio. She's trying to find people to be in a photo shoot," Michonne explained.

"Really? You should do it. You love that kind of stuff, like fashion and things," Rick said.

Michonne took a sip of her lemonade, "Yeah, that's what I told her."

"But here's the thing. The concept for the project is to celebrate diversity and inclusiveness. So Rosita wants to photograph interracial couples, like to show people from different backgrounds who found happiness together. That's why she thought we would be perfect. She said she wants it to be like a fun and romantic atmosphere," Michonne went on to explain.

"Wait a minute, did you say _we_?" Rick was suddenly paying full attention.

"Yeah, it's a couple's photo shoot. You and me. We can tell our story as a couple. How we each overcame heartbreak in the past, how hard it was to date as single parents, how we made a new family together," she told him with that earnest smile he had fallen for.

"But Michonne, I just don't know how I feel about having my picture taken…" Rick stalled.

"Will we be in it?" Carl interjected, "We're part of the story too!"

Andre and Judith nodded their agreement. All three kids watched Rick curiously. He turned back to Michonne, who was smiling like she'd already won.

"You really want to do this?" he asked her.

"Yes," she said, "It'll be fun, I promise."

Rick spread his hands in defeat, "Alright, fine. We'll do it."

Michonne grinned and kissed him square on the mouth.

"Ugh, gross. Not at the table!" Carl complained.

"Yeah, gross!" Andre mimicked, which made Michonne laugh, which made Judith start laughing too.

"Come on everyone, eat your food," Rick tried to get dinner back on track but he was smiling too.

…

"Ahhh, this is the life," Michonne settled into the chair beside Maggie, slipping her feet into the warm bubbling water.

"You said it!" Maggie grinned, pushing the buttons beside the armrest to turn on the automatic massage.

"And I can't believe how perfect the timing is, you winning that raffle and getting spa passes the day before my photo shoot," Michonne added, smiling at her friend.

"Yeah…" Maggie said, "That was lucky."

The two friends relaxed as their pedicure treatments started. Maggie had chosen a cherry red polish. Michonne, ever the artist, couldn't pick just one color so she chose a warm pink for her toes and a shimmery lavender for her nails.

"I'm so glad things are finally settling down for you and Rick. You seem really happy," Maggie said sincerely.

"You know, in a way I have you to thank for it," Michonne said, surprising her friend.

"What, me?" Maggie was confused.

"I met Rick at your wedding, remember?" Michonne reminded her, reminiscing, "It was the drunken one night stand that started everything!"

Maggie giggled, "Seriously? You never told me that before."

"Yep, that's how it started. One night led to another...and another…and then every Wednesday while Carl was at scouts. I think even in the beginning we just had this compatibility, despite everything else going on in our lives, and it grew into something beautiful," Michonne explained, becoming thoughtful.

Maggie gave her a conspiratorial glance, "That's actually not too different from how Glenn and I got started!"

….

The photo studio was in the basement of the art building at the local Community College. There was a large white backdrop, lights, cameras on tripods, with laptops and other gear set up around the room.

There were going to be two parts of their photo shoot. First was a casual, summery date night theme. Then a formal wear cocktail party theme.

Michonne wore her favorite skinny jeans, a loose tank top, and a dark headband while Rick wore his usual dark jeans and the soft blue denim shirt that accented his eyes perfectly.

"You don't have to stand at attention. Try to look more…comfortable? Relaxed?" Rosita called out directions from behind the camera like she had been doing this for years.

Rick took a deep breath and tried to shake out his nerves.

Michonne nudged him in the ribs, "Come on, loosen up a little. This is supposed to be fun!"

"Try smiling," Rosita suggested.

Rick did as he was told. He pulled his face into a cheesy grin, glancing at Michonne out of the side of his eye.

"I can't take you anywhere," Michonne laughed.

Her cheer was infectious and before he knew it, Rick had a genuine smile and Rosita snapped a picture.

"Yeah, like that! Pretend I'm not even here, like you're on a walk in the park. Rick, put your arm around her," Rosita called, clicking the shutter again.

Rick draped his arm around Michonne's shoulder, pulling her closer, and she wove her fingers through his. He began to feel more comfortable and confident. Everything was going perfectly. Michonne wrapped her arms around him and snuggled in close. Rick placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Beautiful, that was perfect!" Rosita said happily, "Let's do the evening wear one next."

Rick and Michonne walked down the hall to get changed in the bathrooms. Rick got dressed in his best suit. He'd initially balked at the price tag when Michonne picked it out for him, but it turned out to be money well spent. He'd gotten several appreciative comments, and more than a few looks, each time he'd worn it.

He made a final adjustment to his tie, checked his pocket one more time, and returned to the photo studio to find that he'd beaten Michonne back.

Rosita smiled conspiratorially, saying in a not quite whisper, "You're doing great! Just stick to the plan and we're golden!"

Rick nodded, even though it was all his plan in the first place. He took a deep breath to calm his nerves. Then Michonne walked through the door.

She was stunning in her strapless dress, the top a dark purple with lighter flower petals layered over it and a floor length deep blue skirt, silver dewdrop earrings and her usual cloth headband replaced with a thin silver one studded with tiny diamonds.

Rick grinned, "You look stunning, my Queen."

Michonne smacked him on the arm playfully, "You're too much."

They posed for the camera and it was surprisingly easy to pretend that they were movie stars on a red carpet somewhere.

"Alright, Rick take a half step back so I can see her dress better," Rosita commanded, "Michonne, look at me, right at the camera."

That was his cue. While Michonne's focus was on the camera, Rick slid his hand into his pocket and pulled out a small box. He carefully knelt on one knee.

"Okay, that's great, now look at Rick," Rosita instructed.

Michonne turned her head to look at Rick. She took in the bended knee and the small velvet box. Her mouth dropped open and her eyes went huge with surprise.

"Oh my God!" Michonne gasped, her hands involuntarily covering her mouth.

"Michonne, there's something I've wanted to tell you for some time now. I've been waiting for the right moment," Rick started and, with Michonne's eyes locked onto his, it felt like they were the only two people in the world.

"From the moment I first saw you in the court house that day, I was fascinated by you. Then I couldn't believe my luck when you came over and asked me to dance at Glenn's wedding. I thought you were so gorgeous and it was so easy to be myself with you, I took every moment as a chance I didn't want to waste and before I knew it I was hopelessly in love with you," Rick said, continuing despite the tears welling up in Michonne's eyes.

"I admit, it started as infatuation. I was the definition of hopeless," he said, and she gave a small laugh.

"But for some reason you kept giving me another chance, even when you'd been hurt so badly by love before. Our connection grew stronger than I ever thought possible. Michonne, you showed me that I could have a second chance to love. And you deserve, so much. You deserve to be loved and treasured and to know that you are loved every second of every day," Rick found himself blinking back his own tears.

He took a steadying breath and opened the box, "Michonne, my love, Queen of my heart, will you marry me?"

There were tears streaming down her face. Michonne squeezed her eyes shut and covered her face with her hands.

"Rick…" her voice was barely audible and her shoulders were trembling.

Feeling a flicker of worry, Rick stood up and stepped closer to her, rubbing her arm gently, "Michonne?"

"Rick…" she said, overwhelmed with emotion, "…I'm too happy!"

Rick grinned, "So I take it that's a yes?"

"Yes! Of course yes!" Michonne threw her arms around his neck.

She pulled back enough to kiss him then hugged him again. "I love you. I love you so much," she whispered, her breath hot on his ear.

Rick felt like his heart was overflowing and when she pulled back he had to wipe his own eyes. He took the ring out of the box and carefully slid it onto Michonne's finger.

Getting a good look at it for the first time, Michonne was nearly speechless once again, "Oh my God, Rick…"

"Do you like it?" he asked.

"I love it! It's incredible!" she said, admiring the way the diamond sparkled on her hand, like that's where it was always meant to be.

Michonne kissed him again and before he could get too lost in the moment, Michonne seemed to remember that they weren't the only ones there. She looked between Rick and Rosita, who was grinning from behind her camera.

"You planned this!" Michonne declared, her initial shock giving way to amazement.

Rick couldn't stop grinning, "Yep."

"The whole thing was his idea. Tara and I helped but it was all him!" Rosita added.

"I can't believe it! This was…" Michonne turned to Rick with a stunned expression, "And you acted like you didn't want to do it! You sneak!"

"You didn't suspect anything?" Rick asked.

"No! Not a thing. I can't believe you tricked me like that!" Michonne was looking at him with a mix of incredulity and a newfound appreciation.

Rick just grinned and pulled her in for another kiss. Although life had thrown him his fair share of tragedy and heartbreak over the years, Rick decided that it was all worth it because now he'd found his own happy ending.

"I am so getting an A for this," Rosita said happily to herself.

…..

A/N: I've had this plot bunny of a proposal hopping around in my head for a long time and I really hope you liked it. There might be one more chapter.

A detail I didn't manage to include earlier: "I'm too happy" is something Andre says when he's super excited about something.


End file.
